PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Land Trust will host a tour of a conservation easement not usually open to the public after a presentation on salmon recovery and its annual membership meeting Saturday, May 18.
The easement in the Lake Farm area is one of a series of conserved properties along the stretch of the Olympic Discovery Trail between Siebert and Morse Creeks.
Advance registration is urged for the tour of the 108-acre Discovery Trail Easement, since space is limited.
Prior to the tour, the land trust annual membership meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the Fairview Grange at 161 Lake Farm Road.
The public meeting will feature an update on salmon recovery efforts across the Olympic Peninsula with a focus on Jimmycomelately and Siebert Creeks.
Speakers at the hour-long event will include:
— Cheri Scalf, scientific technician and project lead with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who share data and photos about recovery of summer chum in the lower reaches of Jimmycomelately Creek at the head of Sequim Bay.
— Cheryl Baumann of the North Olympic Peninsula Lead Entity for Salmon, who will talk about salmon recovery efforts across the region.
— Coleman Byrnes, a retired fisheries biologist and full-time community volunteer, who will discuss his experiences monitoring salmon recovery along Siebert Creek as a volunteer for Streamkeepers.
— Michele d’Hemecourt, North Olympic Land Trust conservation director, who will discuss land trust efforts to permanently conserve a corridor for salmon recovery in the lower 2 miles of Siebert Creek between Port Angeles and Sequim.
Following the presentation on salmon recovery, the land trust will open a membership meeting for a vote on a slate of new and renewing board members.
After the presentation and meeting, the tour of the nearby Discovery Trail Easement will be offered.
Property owners John Warrick and Ruth Jenkins will lead an easy 1-mile walk, over sometimes irregular terrain, beginning with an overlook of the historic Bagley Lake lakebed.
Participants will learn more of the natural and cultural history of the Lake Farm area, glimpse the Historic Thompson Home, now restored, and view the progress of the landowners’ wildlife habitat restoration efforts.
Additionally the owners will share what they have learned of the pioneering Thompson family who first settled this land.
To reserve space on the tour, RSVP to Brad Tesreau at the land trust at brad@northolympiclandtrust.org or 360-417-1815, ext. 4.
For more information about the land trust, see www.NorthOlympicLandTrust.org.
